A Galaxy at War
by greysider
Summary: The Emperor is dead. The fate of the Galaxy hangs in the balance. In steps Admiral Nicholas J. Clorian, Director of the Imperial Security Bureau, forever changing the balance of power. Watch as he strives to survives the chaos that threatens to encompass all and prepare for the coming of a far greater enemy from beyond.


**Introduction**

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 **Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended**.

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 **Story Premise:**

 **The Emperor is dead. The fate of the Galaxy hangs in the balance. In steps Admiral Nicholas J. Clorian, Director of the Imperial Security Bureau, forever changing the balance of power. Watch as he strives to survives the chaos that threatens to encompass all and prepare for the coming of a far greater enemy from beyond.**

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 **1000 Hours**

 **Day 8; 4** **th** **Standard Galactic Month of the Year 4 BBY**

 **Director** **'** **s Offices; Imperial Security Bureau Central Offices**

 **Imperial City; Imperial Center**

"And Good morning to our viewers here in Imperial Center and around the galaxy. This is Galactic News Network, broadcasting here on Imperial City, my name is Alexa Kopek . . .

\- And my name is Jarov Daniels. We have breaking news right now coming out of the Model Sector in the Outer Rim. We can inform you that our noble and courageous Imperial Navy has concluded an engagement with the terrorist rebel forces over the forest moon of the gas giant Endor. We have not yet received any official numbers from the Imperial government, but we can report that the rebel forces were driven off with extremely heavy casualties, courtesy of our brave soldiers and pilots.

\- Indeed Jim. The Imperial Fleet has been redeployed to the sector capital of Annaj, and our very own Death Squadron is said to be bringing back spoils of war from the defeated rebel scum.

\- Yes they are Alexa. More importantly, an early action report from the Imperial Office of Public Cooperation indicated that the rebel forces presented the biggest concentration of their traitorous ships ever assembled. Their total and complete destruction by our superior fleet simply goes to prove the determination of our cause.

\- Furthermore, there were rumors before the battle, from yet unconfirmed sources, that our Emperor himself was present in the engagement! If this information is in fact true, there can be no doubt that his exceptional leadership and strength was decisive in driving off the terrorist forces. Very rarely has our Emperor been personally present in the battles against the hated rebels, but if he has moved himself onto the front lines, all we can say is that the rebel cause is doomed.

\- Stunning information if they do prove to be true. We will keep you, our faithful audience, aware of more breaking news as it comes to us. For now, we move onto a report from our Senior Medical correspondent Brena Fargo on recent imperial success in the fight against the deadly virus in the Antar system . . ."

Nicholas Clorian sighed as he waved his hand through the air. The projection of the popular holonet news network faded out, leaving the dark and plain grey wall blank.

The wall on his right was still covered with dozens of streams of video from around the galaxy, detailing to the extent of the confusion running rampant. Codia, a neighbor system to Model, was facing riots from the anti-imperial population. Somehow, rumors had spread around that the Emperor himself had fallen in battle, and that the current line of imperial succession was wide open. Already, Moff Ryan Greis had been assassinated in the chaos and the Imperial barracks in the planetary capital had been overrun by protesters.

He already knew all that he needed to know concerning the 'Battle of Endor'. The reports had been streaming into his office all morning, both the official ones from Fleet Captains and Moffs, and the unofficial ones from the ISB agents embedded within Death Squadron.

As the Director of the Imperial Security Bureau, Clorian knew maybe more about the current situation than anyone in the Galaxy right now. The ISB was the shadowy secret police apparatus that murdered political enemies both outside and inside the Imperial State. It was them that conducted the special operations, sabotage, assassinations, espionage, and cover-ups that held the Empire together.

Currently congregation of top agents, intelligence chiefs, and assorted aides were surrounding his desk, yelling back and forth about what was the be done about the current situation. The Chairman of the Commission of Operations, Harris Ison, was passing around a new report to the others, rapidly explaining the most recent intel that had been received.

Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes, rubbing the knuckle on his right thumb against his temple, trying to calm the incoming headache. He had always found it mildly entertaining to take a few minutes out of the day to watch one of the many state controlled 'news' networks that were broadcast on the holonet. Galactic News Network was only one of them. The Big View was another, as with the Rim Affairs Network, the Truth Report and the Core Broadcasting Company.

They all covered the various matters with a different front. GNN was more conservative, bordering on nationalist, though at least it tried to pretend it held independent views. Something like the Truth Report was a bit more 'out there', daring to even take opposing stances to the state on occasion. On the other hand, the Rim Affairs Network was propaganda through and through, not even trying to hide the fact that the only sources it received was from the Imperial apparatus.

All of them though, no matter how far left or right they might swing, were all beholden to the oh so benevolent institution that was COMPNOR. That was, for those of you who didn't quite know the Imperial State like Clorian did, was the Committee for the Preservation of the New Order. AKA: Imperial Department of Propaganda and Subversion of Civil Society.

It had surprised him, though, that the GNN anchors would even mention the rumors of the Emperor's presence at Endor. That was most certainly not supposed to be public knowledge. The 'rumors' that were reported on the networks he knew were nothing more than red lettered notes at the end of their briefing packets from COMPNOR. From what he knew, information dissemination from the propaganda bureaus had been halted due to the recent chaos erupting out of the Model Sector. Clearly, somebody had screwed up by forgetting to scratch out that "rumor' when delivering the program to the networks.

That someone would be one Adam Parson, a medium level official whose job it was to make the final edits on the News Briefings before they were sent out. No doubt that right now his counterparts at the Committee were freaking out right now, and Adam would be dead by this time tonight. Now how would he know who the official was in question?

Well, it was he that ordered Adam to slip the 'rumor' into the briefing packet of course. But nobody needed to know that, and he would be dead soon enough anyways.

Was he aware that he had, in effect, sentenced his former friend to an early death? Yes.

Did he regret having to do it? No.

Actions like these were necessary, and would serve good purposes once the true results of their consequences came to light.

The results justified the means. They always had, and they always would.

He reopened his eyes, staring out at the dozen or so officers in the room. Having noticed his silence, they had all calmed down, waiting for instructions or orders from the Director.

Finally, Ison spoke up, trying to prevent another outbreak of hectic argument.

"Should we take the appropriate steps to initiate Operation Red Surface?" he asked, the other looking at him intently, waiting for an answer.

Nicholas paused for a second, looking to his right at the multitude of videos playing themselves on the tall wall to his right. More and more scenes of protest were playing out, especially in the Rim regions.

"Affirmative," he replied emotionlessly, still trying to analyze the situation himself.

Ison nodded. His fingers tapped on the tablet in his hands, bringing up the special contingencies for the operation.

"Level 11 Imperial Security Clearance required," a distinctly feminine voice spoke from the tablet.

All without sound, Harris handed the tablet to the Director, who took it into his hands without looking at the other man. Clorian pressed his right thumb against the circle on the bottom right, waiting as it scanned his print.

"Director. Clorian, Nicholas J." he spoke out loud, the second necessary step for the ISB system to ascertain the identity of those signing off on orders and reports.

The various heads and aides watched him carefully, as if waiting for something out of the norm to happen.

"Confirmed," the voice spoke again, "Operation Red Surface approved."

"I'll coordinate the appropriate agents," Harris stated, his face stone blank and expressionless, "Permission to be dismissed?"

"Dismissed," Clorian nodded at him, watching silently as the man left the room.

Everybody looked at each other for a few moments, unsure of how the Director would respond. The ISB was an office of intelligence and subversion, and naturally all of its leaders were cautious and knew when and when not to speak up. They all worked together as colleagues, but they all knew that alliances made at the ISB were more for convenience and tended not to last one someone got in trouble.

Officers stared at each other, wandering who was going to break the silence first. Nobody was willing to say anything at the moment. They all knew the situation was precarious as it was.

The tension in the room was palatable, and Nicholas could have sworn that Evan Keene, head of the Political Action Office, was sweating down his forehead.

"Is it true then?" someone spoke up, and everybody turned to stare at Colonel Gail Robart, "Is the Emperor dead?"

Some of the officials sucked in their breath, the plain effect of the words having hit them full one. The ISB didn't hide behind flowery language, but to the recent reports had put everyone on edge.

It was treason, according to legal law, to suggest the Emperor was dead or incapable. The ISB operated outside of the legal rules, true, but it was still significant to hear the phrase out loud.

"He is," Clorian replied tersely, and the reaction amongst the collected individuals was immediate.

There were no tears, arguments, or comments, just the shock of the fact slapped across all of their faces.

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 **Author's Note:**

 **Hello all! Welcome to my new story** **"** **A Galaxy at War** **"** **.**

 **This story is centered around the experiences of Nicholas Clorian, the Director of the Imperial Security Bureau, in the aftermath of the Battle of Endor and the Death of Emperor Palpatine. This story will be multi-faceted, and take on different perspectives from both the Imperial and the Republic side. Popular Legends characters will be key, and canon characters such as Luke, Leia, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, Gial Ackbar and Mon Mothma will also be very present.**

 **I really do appreciate constructive criticism of my work. If there are errors, things that don't make sense, convoluted thoughts, please let me know and I will do my best to correct them. My work is never perfect, so please let me know when it's not.**

 **Feel free to ask questions and please favorite, follow, and review. Thanks to all who have done so!**

 **Hope you enjoy this introduction and like the premise of this story.**

 **See you next time,**

 **Greysider**


End file.
